(02-07-2017 07:50 PM)Aractus Wrote: So in my estimation, if you want universal healthcare you would need a policy that deals with the 5-6 million jobs that would be redundant, and a policy to make sure that those earning low incomes are not the ones that face stagnant wages and pay cuts.

The problem is that even the skilled jobs like surgery will be lost to automation much sooner than we think. If we don't adapt we're looking at 40% unemployment. And we better get universal health care in place first or we'll be looking at the plague. The tech moguls realize this and hence their almost unanimous opinion on the importance of directing resources towards education and retraining.

(02-07-2017 09:17 PM)GirlyMan Wrote: The problem is that even the skilled jobs like surgery will be lost to automation much sooner than we think.

So far robotic surgery still needs human surgeons to make decisions based on real time events they observe.

True, but this is how things are done. It is new technology, like the self driving cars which have human drivers ready to take over in case of emergency.

In the case of self driving cars they have already proven to be more reliable and safer drivers that their human counterparts.

The automated surgery tools available today already have better precision and accuracy than what a human is capable of.
Eg: My dad got eye surgery for an artificial lens and elected to use one of the automated laser scalpel machines (paid extra). After the cutting part of the procedure (to get access to the lens of the eye) the surgeon was grinning from ear to ear "Couldn't have done a better job myself." The end result was a cleaner cut with less scarring, faster healing, and less risk to the patient.

This tech is still in its infancy but once it proves to be more reliable than human operators they will taken of the "L" plates and allowed to drive on the road with less supervision.

This technology will probably come sooner than later due to price pressure. People are sick of paying through the nose for decent health care.

And I'm sick of governments that constantly try to privatise it and weaken the public healthcare system.

“Forget Jesus, the stars died so you could be born.” - Lawrence M. Krauss